"i'm broken,
tell you i'm fine.
but you wouldn't believe me
if you knew the things that cross my mind.
and i'm hurting,
but i show no sign.
'cause i'm afraid to give in,
break down and waste your time."
~~~~~~~~
in which leo valdez finds sage,
and...
guys! forged smiles, no more has reached over 450 reads, 120 votes and 100 comments, so I made something special to celebrate the occasion.
i know the numbers seem random, and really, they are, but i noticed how much love you all have shown fs,nm and i had to do something and thank some people.
first, me and autumn have some special people to thank.
-dewper your stories have provided constant entertainment and inspiration for us and our writing. if it weren't for aruna rodrigo, sage porsche and everything else that came with her would never have existed. you are a true hero of olympus.
TheRedSourPatchKid anytime you leave a comment, we know that it's real. you always take your time when writing responses, giving out genuine praise (and laughter!) whenever you comment. friday mornings on the way to school were spent reading the newest I Can't Count The Reasons chapter, and it gave us something to look forward to at the end if the day.
MJade_hs1d your comments take the tension out of any moment, and your support has kept us writing. thanks for all the fun times!
YallNeedLotsOfHelp your patience with our scattered and slow updates has definitely not been missed, and we appreciate it! you're always so eager for updates, and yet never pressure us to post a new chapter. your enthusiasm is always so heartwarming for us.
next, we have a special art piece made by myself. october 7th is sage's birthday, so i drew a polaroid of leo and sage on her birthday which may appear in the book soon! (hint: its later in this special update...)
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finally, you all have been waiting for a chapter for so long, we thought we'd give you a small glimpse at what's coming soon for leo, sage, piper, jason, and kaitlynn!
vi - private eye piper piper
she would never say it aloud, not to jason or leo or sage, but piper wasn't entirely sure that leo had anything left to salvage. after they had their talk by the lake, piper began to realize the tightness in leo's smiles, the way his shoulders slumped when he thought he was alone. she felt moderately bad for spilling to jason, but she also knew that he would need to understand if there was any chance of them helping leo. he was his best friend, after all.
their were still things in the way, though. one of them being the obvious disaster of a quest (act now and you get an added mean girl for free!), and the other being sage herself. piper was having a hard time getting a grasp on who sage really was to leo. it was easy to see that leo was into sage, that wasn't a problem. but sage was in some strange in-between state of only being comfortable when she was around leo, and being her most awkward around leo. no matter how hard piper tried, she couldn't get a lead on sage. it made her more frustrated than it should have.
it's really short, but the next chapter, vi - private eye piper, will be out soon! and, there's still a bit more...
??? - times new romance sage
sage hadn't been at that place in years. she couldn't believe she had let herself think that her mom, no, lydia, had changed. she hadn't. she never would. neither would sage.
"you know, just because your mom hasn't is still a total loser doesn't mean that you still have to be scared."
sage didn't bother to look at leo. all she would find in his eyes was sympathy. sage knew he was following her, he had been for the past hour and a half. she still didn't want to talk though.
"lydia. and i'm not scared."
leo sat next to sage, the same way he had in jason's cabin what felt like years ago. so much had changed in just a few days. so much had been lost. jason... she couldn't think about that. she would spiral again, get lost in her mind.
"listen, sage. i know you. you wanted your... lydia to be better, but she's not. and i know that you are scared, and hurt. but i'm still here, no matter what." leo hesitated, and looked away. he carefully took sage's hand in his. she didn't pull away. "sage..."
sage looked into leo's eyes, his beautiful, chocolate brown eyes, and everything seemed to just stop.
she took in his name, the name that made her smile every time it was said. his hair, that she could run her hands through for hours, that was never styled but always seemed to be perfect. his hands, that were constantly moving and working. his smile, that was infectious. his words, that could bring a laugh to even the darkest moments. his lips, that sage had dreamt about for days, ever since the day before they left on their quest.
sage was done with dreams. but that didn't have to be a bad thing. and she knew this wasn't bad.
this dream could come true.
so it did.
sage kissed leo, and he kissed her back. and it was everything she dreamed of.
sage pulled away. "leo, i love you. i know i do. and i... i-"
"will you be my girlfriend?" leo said quickly.
there was no hesitation. "yes!"
you have to wait for the rest of this chapter, but be ready for times new romance (get it? times new roman-ce, like the font... okay) to be published, hopefully sooner rather than later! i'll be focusing on fs,nm more, so chapters will hopefully come out faster.
and there you have it! thank you to everyone who has supported us so far in this story. we would never have made it this far without you guys.
yours in demigodishness, with lots of love and appreciation,
